Stuck in another world, so I may as well be a couple!
by Malygauss
Summary: Elden, a regular guy who enjoys playing Mario games, is transported to the Mario world! Having no way of getting home, he decides to live there. The thing is, he has always had interest in a special someone from that world. So he figures... If I'm stuck here, I may as well romance her!
1. Transported somewhere new!

I was walking home from work one day when I fell into a hole that appeared from nowhere. Hi, I'm Elden. And this is the my story.

There I was, minding my own business, looking forward to playing a game I had bought awhile back. I was halfway home when the ground opened up right under me. I reached out toward the edge of the hole too late. As the darkness swallowed me, I thought to myself "just freaking perfect. Why does this stuff always happen to me?" before passing out.

I have no idea how much time passed. But I woke up to a colorful bedroom. Pink carpet surrounding a pink covered bed. The walls were a sky blue with fluffy white clouds painted onto its surface. Just as I was getting my bearings, the door opened.

"It's ok, I'll just go grab it quick" said an obviously female voice.

she walked into what was, apparently, her bedroom. I started panicking a little, but calmed down after deciding to just explain myself. There's never any reason to freak out.

Upon entering, she stopped and stared at me. She was blonde with a pink dress. I started speaking quickly to diffuse the situation.

"Hi. I seem to have been teleported into this room".

She immediately started screaming. "Help! Intruder in my bed chambers!"

The door slammed open and what looked like short men with white and red hats holding spears ran in.

The immediately surrounded me.

"Surrender!" they shouted in unison.

At closer inspection, I figured out where I was.

"Holy crap! You're Toads! And that must make you... Princess Peach?!"

My mind was reeling. I was, somehow, in the world of Mario!

"Wait, what is going on? How the hell did I get here? Yo, Peach, calm down! I'm just as freaked out as you are!"

The Toads all bristled at my outburst. "How dare you speak to Her Royal Highness in such familiar tones! Name yourself, intruder!"

"Oh, crap, sorry. I'm Elden... And I was, apparently, transported to this world against my will."

"Lies!" The Toads all cried. "You're coming with us to the dungeon!"

"Oh, ok. I understand completely. I am a stranger in a Princess's bedroom." I got off the bed "Ok, gentlemen. Lets go to the dungeon. I promise to cooperate, so please don't accidentally stab me."

The Toads all look shocked and turn their heads towards Princess Peach. She gives a small nod of conscent and we all start trooping out of the room. It takes awhile, but we eventually make it into the dungeon. It's semi-dark but rather warm. I half expected it to be dripping and damp. A toad steps forward to unlock the cell and the others stand ready with their spears behind me. Looks like they aren't really trusting guys.

The one that unlocked the cell gestures for me to step inside. So I step in and back up against the wall. I don't want to give these guys a reason to mistreat me. They remained on guard until the door was closed.

They breathed a sigh of relief when I did nothing against them and had a full wall of steel bars between us.

I sat down on the floor and asked "So, when do I get to eat? I haven't eaten anything since breakfast."

The Toads all looked at each other. One stepped forward, apparently the group leader "we'll talk to the Princess about that. For now, get comfy. You aren't going anywhere."

They all left and I decided to do just that. Get comfortable. A lot had happened in the last thirty minutes. I decided to take a nap on the comfortable looking cot.

I lay there, unable to sleep. I controlled my breathing, and remained laying. What a messed up day. I didn't even get to play that game of mine. Oh, well. Maybe this was all a dream and when I woke up it'd be back to work.


	2. Waking up to food and danger

I had no idea how long I lay there before drifting off, but I was woken up by the sound of a door and footsteps.

"hey, foods here" I opened my eyes and sat up. A toad was standing there with a tray of food. It looked like plain old spaghetti.  
Turns out this wasn't a dream.

"Hey, thanks. What's your name?" I said.

"Toad" said the Toad. I grimaced "Oh, ok. Seems a little on the nose so why don't I call you T.?"

"You don't get to call me anything, prisoner. Just eat and stay quiet."

I blinked in consternation. Weren't toads supposed to be happy go lucky? Or was this world different from what I knew?

I accepted the food through the bars

"So when am I getting out of here?"

"No idea. That's not my decision. That will be decided once the Princess figures what to do with you."

The toad left me there with my food. I started eating immediately.

I quickly discovered that this food was exactly like my own world's food. So at least that was a plus. I finished the food and put the tray back through the bars.

I then got comfy again. Having nothing but the clothes on my back was terrible. I didn't even have a book. No use crying about it, though. This was the situation I was in and I had to make due.

I laid down on the cot again, trying to get comfy when the whole area shook and a loud sound went off above me. It sounded like an explosion going off. "Must be bowser attacking again... Whelp, time to see if I can do anything extraordinary!"

I stood up approached the bars. I grabbed one and tried moving it.

The door just swung open. Turned out they forgot to lock the door... So, the toads were just as silly as they were in the games.

I exited the dungeon and went upstairs. I should probably help out, but I was too excited to see the heroic duo in action.

I followed the sounds of fighting and went up towards what I thought was the throne room.

I slowly opened the big double doors and looked inside. Mario and Luigi were battling it out with Bowser Jr. and the Koopalings! Bowser was standing in the back near his Clown Car holding onto the Princess. I stood there, watching in awe of Mario and Luigi taking on this many people at once. Then I noticed the look of agony on Princess Peach's face. It seems like she was in pain... I made up my mind then and there. I had to help her out. I snuck inside, staying to the edge of the grand room. I got closer and closer to Bowser and his clown car. Bowser turned around and I took that chance to stomp on his toe as hard as I could. Good thing I remembered to wear my good boots this morning!

Bowser cried out in pain and dropped the Princess in his hurry to reach toward his foot. I snatched up the princess and hightailed it out of there. I looked over at Mario and Luigi as I left the room. "I got her! Take care of yourselves!" I cried out when making eye contact with Mario. He gave me a single nod before I was through the doors.

I carried the Princess down the main stairs and toward the dungeon I was in before. All the while, she was staring at me with confusion. "Hey, it's rude to stare, Your Highness."

She blinks and blushes, looking away. I set her down inside the dungeon. "Ok, back away from the door as far as you can, Princess. I'll make sure no one comes through. And see if you can hide!"

She ran towards the back of the dungeon. I turned away to see what I could use to use as a weapon. Seeing nothing, I decided to stand behind the door when it opened to get the drop on whoever came in next.


	3. New and Old Suspicions

What seemed like an hour passed by before I heard Mario and Luigi calling out for Princess Peach.

I called out to her. "Stay here, I'll go see if it's clear".

"But it's Mario and Luigi's voices calling out..."

"Sheesh, Peach, you sure are naive. A little paranoia never hurt anyone. Don't be so trusting. Just stay hidden, and if it is Mario and Luigi, I'll have them come back with me."

I left the dungeon, prepared to fight. It wasn't too long before I ran into The Mario Brother Duo. "Hey guys, how'd it go?"

Mario looked suspicious but Luigi smiled when he saw me. "Great! Thanks so much for getting the Princess out of there!" Said Luigi

I smiled at Luigi and looked directly at Mario becoming serious. "She's hiding in the dungeon. Lead the way?"

He looked at me a bit longer and gave a single nod. You go first, stranger" he said. I sighed inwardly. Looks like Mario is as supicious as me. Good. At least someone here is.

I led the way toward the dungeon and opened the door, heading straight in.

Mario! Luigi! Thank goodness. I was worried when this... Elden, right? Said not to be so trusting. I am so glad you two are both safe."

Mario looked at me in surprise. Luigi just looked confused.

"Hey, sorry. I had to be sure you were you. A little bit of paranoia..."

"Never hurt anyone." Mario finished my sentence.

I smiled at him. My first genuine one since arriving here. "Good to see someone of like mind. Now, if you'll excuse me..."

I walked back to my cell and went through the door, closing it behind me. Now it was Mario's turn to look confused. "What? Technically I am still a prisoner. It was only luck that the Toad guards forgot to lock it."

Luigi looked concerned and Mario was still confused. Peach, however, walked over to the cell and reopened it. I looked at her amd asked "Does this mean I'm free to go? Or that you believe my story?"

Peach looked at me with curiosity. "Well, it's obvious you mean us no harm. After all, you saved me from being Bowser's prisoner again. And then you willingly walked back into your cell. That, itself, proves that you're a good person. Or at least a smart one. So, yes. I think you're free to go. Although I am interested in hearing your story.." She looked over at Mario and Luigi. Luigi smiled and Mario frowned, both nodding their agreement.


	4. Tea With Royalty and Legends

It was a few hours later, and all four of us were sitting in a smaller side chamber drinking tea. It was small, with a table and some comfortable chairs. The Princess had called this chamber a 'cabinet'. I had just finished my story on how I had ended up here.

"Wait, so you're really not from our world? Then how did you know who I was once meeting me for the first time?" asked Peach.

Well, that's the thing. In my world, you guys are video game characters. And rather famous ones at that. You guys are household names the world over" I replied to the Princess. "In fact, it was one of your games that I was going to be playing once I got home, Luigi. It was a remake, but a good one."

Luigi looked shocked. "Me? My own-a game? Wowee!"

"But I guess I'll never get to play it. That's fine, of course. Because now I get to hang out with the real deals!"

Mario, Luigi, and Peach looked at each other in embarassment.

An attendant toad showed up awhile later. It seemed like we all got on really well, so I was happy that I was here. There wasn't anything in my old world and life that I was looking forward to. Just the games that I played. Now that I was here in the world I spent the most time with back home, I never felt more at home.


	5. A Couple of Months Later

It was a few months later. By this time, Princess Peach (who now allowed me to call her Peach) had given me a job and home on the outskirts of Toad Town. I was to scan the skies for any sign of Bowser and his minions and inform Mario, then high tail it to the castle to see how I could help. Which, let me tell you, is a great deal more satisfying than working a 9-5 in my old world. Not only was I actually contributing to a wonderful society of people all helping each other out, but I had actually made more friends here than I did in my old world. So now I had a little group of people who wanted me around. Mario was busy protecting the kingdom and stuff (which isn't to say he didn't like me, he was just busier than usual), but Luigi actually hung out with me quite a bit. Today he was off doing his own thing and I was on the roof of my house looking through my binoculars.

Doing this job was usually cathartic in nature. So it was an easy gig. But today, I had this gut feeling that something was going to go wrong.

I spotted an airship and decided I was right. It was definitely Bowser again.

I ran toward Mario and Luigi's house and threw open the door. An emergency like this didn't require the proper protocol of knocking first. "Oy! Bowser is back!" I cried out. Thankfully, Mario was sitting at the table (though he was still in his pajamas). "Mamma Mia! You'd better go ahead of us. We still gotta get dressed!"

Knowing that Mario and Luigi were on their way was truly a relief. I wasn't sure how much damage I could do without their ability to jump.

I sprinted towards the castle with dread in my heart. Bowser was going to get there before me! I decided that I'd have to talk to Peach about some kind of pneumatic tube system for emergencies.

I got there just as bowser was leaving. "Bowser! Put her down!" I yelled at him. He turned towards me and grinned "Can't stomp on my talons this time, punk. That was a cheap shot and you won't be getting by me again!" With that he breathed fire in my direction. I dodged, but it was simply a distraction for him to escape.

I cursed out loud. A few of the toads still standing gasped at my choice of words. I left the throne room and went back outside to wait for the brothers to show up.


	6. Battle Memories

I didn't have to wait long.

A few minutes later both Mario and Luigi were standing in front of me, breathing easy. These two were in really great shape.

It turns out that all those castles in the Mario games are actually real. And Bowser never stays in one for long. So it's a process of trial and error. We started traveling in the direction that the airship was going. Unlike the games, this was actually just process of traveling and getting to the castles. There were no 'stages' or 'levels' inbetween. We reached the first castle in about an hour.

We evaded traps and minions inside the castle. At the end, we found two of the Koopalings guarding the throne room. It was Iggy and Lemmy Koopa. This pair were brothers like Mario and Luigi. This much I knew from my old days of playing the games. But in this world, they were adopted. So they were technically Bowser's kids. The only one that was his by birth was Jr.

So Iggy and Lemmy attacked us, but were swiftly defeated. It turns out this duo weren't even strong enough to give me trouble. Lemmy rolled around on top of a ball and Iggy sent mechanical goombas at us. All I had to do was kick Lemmy's ball out from underneath him and he crashed to the ground face first, which knocked him unconcious. No one had, apparently, ever kicked the ball out from underneath him.

Iggy was a pushover when he didn't have his technology or robots. Mario and Luigi worked together to take out the robots and throw them back at Iggy. He got hit with one and fell down unconcious. The brothers turned to leave and make their way to the next castle. I decided to follow suit and left them lying there. 

I started asking questions. "Hey, Luigi, is it always that easy? I remember them being way harder to fight in my old world."

"Really? Those two used to give us so much trouble when they were younger. They're more interested in their hobbies now that they're both 25. So they usually only put up enough of a fight to show Bowser that they tried."

I blinked rapidly as I processed this new information. So this world I was in was actually quite 4 years ahead of the games. Mario spoke up "Yeah, but it's usually just those two. The rest of them actually put up a fight when we show up. So don't go resting on your laurels just yet."

I nodded at Mario. Pragmatic as always. I decided that this was the best approach when dealing with the Koopalings.

This simply meant that everyone was older than I had originally thought.  
Going down the list:  
Bowser Jr. was 14  
Larry was 20  
Morton Jr. was 21  
Iggy and Lemmy was 25.  
Roy was 28  
Ludwig was 32...  
And Wendy was 23. 

I slowed my pace as an old memory surface in my mind.

 _I was younger than I was now, more headstrong and emotional, and I was deep in the thrall of geek-dom. I had decided to announce that I was in love with someone. Wendy O Koopa._

 _But that was a grave mistake. I was teased mercilessly. It got so bad I had to change schools... And see a therapist. I was told that I couldn't be in love with a fictional character._

I realized that I had stopped walking, and both brothers were now looking at me with concern.

I blinked "What?"

"I said: 'are you OK, Elden?" said Mario

Oh, no. I had gotten lost in my own head again. I used to do that a lot in my old world.. At least, while I was younger.

I decided to change the subject.

"No, I'm ok. Just got lost in a memory. Anyway, where's the next castle at?".

Luigi looks relieved, but Mario is still giving me that searching look. He jerks his thumb over his shoulder. "Right there."


	7. Laughter, Mistakes, and trust

The castle stood before us. It looked a lot more intimidating than the previous one. I must have telegraphed this on my face, because Luigi spoke up.

"This is the Banshee Swamp. It's filled with ghosts and spooky things..." Luigi looks terrified. It's like he's back in his mansion again.

Mario, though, looks nonchalant. "It's fine, Luigi. As long as you're looking at them, the boos usually leave you alone."

"But Mario... It's the looking that scares me the most!"

I started laughing at that outburst. I couldn't help it! It was too perfect of a back and forth for me not to have enjoyed.

"Thanks guys. That really helped." Mario looks satisfied but Luigi just looks confused.

We entered this castle with trepidation. Not all castles have the same traps. We wandered the halls, while I briefly wondered if those giant spikes that came from nowhere were actually real. I turned the corner and found myself face to face with a boo. They weren't very see through... More like pure white and solid. So, being naturally curious (and so no one else could see) I reached out my hand to touch the Boo. My hand, though, didn't stop. It just passed through. I guess this really was a ghost. I gasped in pain as I brought the hand back out. Mario looked over, realized what I had done, and pulled me by the back of my shirt. "You idiota! Why did you do that? You should know that Boos hurt those it touches!"

My hand felt like it was dipped in boiling water. Luigi backed up still looking at the Boo. "How bad is it, Mario?"

"Not bad. All he needs is a regular mushroom."

This looks like it's easier than it is.

Mario handed me a mushroom and slapped me on my head.

"Eat that and don't go sticking your hand into anything else!"

I nodded and ate the mushroom. My hand immediately started feeling much better.

I was actually happy to have been smacked like that. It meant that Mario thought I could handle myself and trusted me to make smart decisions. High praise, indeed, from the legend himself.

We had Luigi keep an eye on the Boo till we were out of its line of sight. After that, it wasn't long before we got to the double doors of the throne room. We opened the doors and walked inside.


	8. Battle with the Musical Mastermind

I was looking around as I entered the room with the brothers. It was mostly empty, but had a very large pipe organ that too up the entire back wall. Sitting at the keys was, of course, Ludwig Von Koopa.

Music enthusiast and son of Bowser.

He was playing a very eerie tune when we entered, but stopped as we approached. "Ah.. The Mario Bros. Right on schedule."

Ludwig stands up and turns around. "As you can see, I-!"

He stops midsentence, shocked that I am also standing there. "Well hello there. Allow me to introduce myself. Ludwig Von Koopa. And you are?"

I grin at his sudden change in demenor. What was once haughty and condescending instantly changed to that of polite introduction.

"The name's Elden. Pleasure." With the niceties of introduction over, he turns back to the brothers, once again assuming the haughty demenor. "Now, if you must know, she isn't here. But that information doesn't matter... Because you won't be leaving!"

Ludwig reaches back and hits a key on the organ. It's deep and reverbating.. But is only a distraction. An even louder click sounds out from above, and a portion of the ceiling falls away. It hits the floor and throws up a large cloud of dust.

Wait, didn't I know what was coming next? I quickly scanned my memories for some sort of clue...

I realized what was coming. "Guys, jump!"

They both pulled off their super jumps, avoiding the shockwave. I, on the other hand, had no such ability. So I was knocked over into the now dissipating dust cloud. Looks like the shockwave was only the start, though, because Ludwig now had his wand out and aimed at us. Before I could blink, he had fired off some blue magic at us. I rolled through the dust to get away, but the brothers weren't so lucky. They both took the bolts to the chest, knocking them down and out. I couldn't believe what I was seeing. Both Mario and Luigi were down!

I stood up and saw Ludwig standing over them, looking victorious. He was starting to raise his wand, only to remember that I was also in the room.

He glanced over towards me and sighed. "Are you really going to fight me, too?". I nodded. Too tense to actually speak. "Very well. Then lets get this over with" and pointed his wand at me. I wasn't sure how I could react to this, though. So I did the only thing I knew I could do. I charged toward him in a zig zag.

He instantly panicked, and fired off bolt after bolt. I dodged each ball of blue fire, and got right up in his face. He flinched, so I did the first thing that came to my mind. I stomped on his foot.

He yelled out in pain and grabbed his foot, dropping his wand. I picked it up and backed away towards Mario and Luigi.

Having your foot stomped on isn't fun. Expecially when someone puts all of their force and weight behind it. In my old world, that could potentially break someone's toes. And the Koopalings didn't, apparently, wear shoes.

Ludwig calmed down after rolling around for a few minutes. So I pointed his own want at him and finally spoke up. "Hey, Ludwig. So what you going to do now? Spin at me?" I was hoping to distract him so I could grab a couple of mushrooms out of luigi's pocket. He seemed to be under the impression that I could use this wand, because when he looked up at me his eyes got real wide. He put his hands up in front of him, as if willing me to stay back. That was fine with me, as it gave me plenty of time to finally grab two mushrooms and stuff them into each of the brothers mouths. It worked instantly, which was amazing. Mario was the first to sit up. He looked around caught sight of me holding Ludwigs wand. He raised a single questioning eyebrow. I shrugged. Luigi got up, too, looking pissed. It seems not even a haunted castle was able to dampen his fighting spirit.

The brothers started walking toward wandless Ludwig, cracking their knuckles. Ludwig started panicking, looking around for an escape route. But it was far too late. With a punch and a jump, he was knocked out. I pocketed the wand. Maybe it would come in handy later.


	9. Onwards

We had left Ludwig, the castle, and the Banshee Swamp behind. Now we were in some sort of open field, walking toward the distant castle. Filled with flowers of all sorts of colors, it was quite pleasant. A nice place for a picnic. But we were on a mission. And the longer it took, the more danger there was for Peach. So no time for sight seeing or resting.

Something strange started happening. The closer we got, the cloudier the sky became.

Mario and Luigi both shared knowing looks. I didn't understand, so I asked. "So it looks like you two know about this current phenomena. Care to share?"

Luigi looked back at me. "Yeah; it's Morton Jr. again. He enjoys messing with lighning." I blinked in response. Wasn't Morton Jr. the largest of the troopa? And in the games, he seemed quite dumb. I decided to ask about it.

"What?" Said Mario; "Morton is one of the most sinister and diabolocal of the Koopalings. He's almost as strong as Bowser and is just as cruel."

Ok. This was not like the games I had played back in my old world. Iggy and Lemmy were... Not interested in fighting. Ludwig was the same. But Morton Jr. being diabolocal? Not in a million years. But this wasn't my old world. It was theirs. And I had to trust their word.


	10. Through the danger

The closer we got to the castle, the bigger the lightning strikes got. It got to the point where Mario called out to us "Run!".

We sprinted toward the castle doors. Mario and Luigi matched speed in front of me. We got closer and closer, with more and more lightning hitting the ground all around us. It was terrifying, to say the least. My hair started to stand on end and my skin was starting to tingle. Mario and Luigi both jumped at the same time into a sort of drop kick super jump, hitting the door and opening it with a crash. I had just barely slipped through when the largest lighting bolt I had ever seen in this world or my own crashed down right behind us. Mario and Luigi slammed the doors a second later. It was aweful. The smell of ozone was strong and my hair hadn't gone down to normal. I was panting, out of breath... But the brothers seemed fine. "Is this a normal occurance?!" I gasped at them. Mario raised an eyebrow and Luigi nodded.

I was flabbergasted. This was way worse than anything I could have thought of. Way worse than the normal meat head Morton Jr. was portrayed as in the games. This was bad. There was real danger here.

Mario looked at me, understanding the danger I was in. He walked over to me, picked me up off the ground, and looked me in the eye.

"You will not be fighting Morton. It's too dangerous. But you will still have a job to do. You have to find where the power to this place comes from and disable it." Mario pulls out a fire flower from his pocket. "Use this and blow it up. We don't want Morton waking up and blasting us to smithereens!". I nodded solemnly. This was obviously an all too important task, too. I just had to trust that these two were going to take down Morton Jr.


	11. Master of controls

We split up moments later. They had their task, and I had mine. I started by following the wires that were strewn about everywhere. I entered room after room, following more and more wires. I reached a new hallway where all the wires seemed to converge. They all led to one big door.

Cautiously, I approached it. You could practically feel the hum of electricty in these huge lines. I had a feeling that if I touched it, I'd get a real nasty shock. I pushed the door open and walked inside.

This room was huge. It was round with all sorts of cages lining the walls. In the middle of the room was a large control board and monitor. On the screen were letters and numbers I couldn't make sense of. Sitting in the chair of the monitor was a Magikoopa. Looks like it hasn't seen me yet. So this will have to be my chance...

I crushed the flower in my hand and felt my clothes shifting around. Looking down, they had turned white. Well, at least that was the same as the games.

I turned back toward the control board. I took three steps forward, prepared to fire off some fire balls... But I couldn't do it. This was taking a life. It went against everything that I believed.

So then: shifting gears, I grabbed the Magikoopa by the robe and threw it off to the side. Now I was free to blow it up. I fired off as many as I could, trying to coat the entire screen and console evenly. After about the tenth, though, the entire thing started sparking and catching fire. Seems I went a little overboard.

I turned around to leave, but it looked like the magikoopa was knocked out. I didn't want to leave it here, though, so I grabbed it and tucked it under an arm. Time to make my escape.


	12. Dreams coming true

I ran outside as a loud boom echoed through the castle. Looking around, I spotted Mario and Luigi standing nearby. Heading over to them, I realized I was still carrying the Magikoopa. They were lighter than they seemed. "Hey, guys, I took care of my end. How was yours?"

Mario smiled in a carefree way. "It was fine. I'm sorry I stuck you with the side job, but Morton is too strong for someone untrained. So we'll have to get you started on that once we get back." Luigi's eyes shined with happiness. "Oh, Mario! You're really going to teach him how to fight like us? That's wonderful!" Luigi turned to look at me; "Then you'll be able to jump just like us! And Mario doesn't allow us to teach /i/anyone/i/ our techniques!"

I grinned stupidly. This was amazing! Now I could be just like these two.

Mario was looking at my arm with a weird expression on his face. "Oh, yeah. I couldn't bring myself to let this Magikoopa die. I know it's our enemy... But that shouldn't matter." Mario nodded in agreement "I couldn't agree more. It is how we treat each other in and out of combat that sets us apart from the darker forces in the world. I am happy to have brought you along."

Luigi nodded his agreement, as well. "You did well, Elden."

I found my face was hurting from all this smiling I was doing. This was great, despite the dire situation. I was going to be trained by the legendary Mario Bros. I was going to learn to Super Jump, something I had only ever dreamed of doing. I broke the silence. "So what should I do with this one here?" I said, gesturing to the still unconcious Magikoopa.

Luigi leaned in to take a closed look. "Why, that's Kamek Koopa! I would have thought he'd stick close to bowser.. Just leave him here. It's safe now that the lightning is finished". I nodded, agreeing with Luigi's simple instructions. I put Kamek down and we started walking to the next castle in the distance.


	13. Chilly weather and hidden doors

It started to get real cold, real fast. This unnatural coldness surely had to be because of another machine. Thankfully, the fire flower was still in effect; So at least I was warm. But it starting to get hard to walk. "Hey, so how much further till the next castle?" I asked into the silence.

"None. We're here" said Mario. I blinked, confused. When did I miss arriving? Luigi looked at me, saw my confusion, and smiled. "This is why you couldn't tell". And pushed on what looked like empty air. But I was astonished when double doors flew open with a dull thud. Luigi started laughing at the way my jaw dropped, and Mario couldn't help but smirk as the headed inside. I quickly moved to follow them.


	14. Conceit and Duty

As we moved around the castle, we started seeing portraits of Wendy. Mario and Luigi looked disgusted, but I was intrigued... Though I tried not to let it show on my face.

We got closer and closer to the throne room. I started getting more and more nervous. As if he could sense it, Mario stopped and started giving me a pep talk. "Don't worry, Elden. This is Wendy we're talking about. And she's usually a push over. So this time we'll be leaving it to you and will be waiting outside ready to leave. While we may not look it, we need to take a breather. But she has to be defeated, otherwise the land around this area will die from the cold". I nodded, understanding. If Morton was as hardcore as they suggested, they definitely needed to rest. And according to Mario, Wendy was one of the weaker ones. Only interested in herself. So she'd hardly put up a fight.

So I left their side when the hallway split. They headed to the exit, and I headed toward the huge double doors.


	15. Mistaken Identity

As I cautiously pushed open the doors, I was hit with warm air. I heard a voice call out "Well, since you're here, get inside. You're letting the cold in."

I blinked in surprise, but quickly walked into the room and closed the door behind me. I didn't dare take my eyes off my surroundings. A little bit of paranoia...

I soon found my target and the person the voice came from. Wendy O'Koopa.

I walked toward her, keeping my nerves tight. I was ready for anything at this point. Wendy was sitting on a throne, filing her talons. Without even looking away from her work, she spoke "Sorry to say that your princess isn't here. Now get out, because I have more important things to do than mess around with the Dork Brothers.

I stayed silent, unsure of what to say. Seems I truly was nervous. My mind kept wandering back to those moments of my childhood. Something that was never broken out of me. Something that was still there, deep in my heart.

Wendy sighed, clearly annoyed. She looked up. "You know, you usually start talking smack by this point..." She stopped, clearly startled that the people who she was talking to weren't there. "Who the hell are you?!" she screamed.


	16. Things go wrong?

"So? Who the hell are you?!" she continued to scream at me. Unsure how to proceed, I waited until she caught her breath. "Elden. And I'm here to stop you." Internally, I was screaming. I didn't want to fight someone I loved!

Wendy jumped off her throne, clearly upset with my remarks.

"You think you can take me? Fine. I hope you brought some 1-ups".

Wendy launched herself at me with a ferocious attack. Claws tore through my shirt before I was able to back away. My clothes were no longer white. Seems that the fire flower offered a bit of protection as well.

Wendy grinned at me, clearly enjoying herself. But I was just getting started. I gathered my strength in the balls of my feet and leaped at her. She clearly wasn't expecting that, because she gasped before I tackled her.

Wrestling with Wendy wasn't easy. But I finally had her pinned down. I leaned in the give her the knock out punch, but hesitated. Wendy's eyes were a brilliant shade of blue. I felt myself getting lost in those eyes. It turned my sneer into a frown.

"What? Got nothing to say? Guess you're as dumb as you loo-" It was that moment I found myself pressing my lips to hers. After what seemed like an eternity, she shoved me off and stands up, seemingly appalled. "What is _wrong_ with you?! Screw this, I'm leaving. You win, or whatever."

She walked over to a curtain, drawing it back to reveal a pipe. As she was climbing in, she looked over her shoulder at me. "You're so _weird_ ". And she was gone.


	17. Caught in a funk

I caught back up with Mario and Luigi at the entrance, but my mind was confused. Luigi tried to talk to me, but I wasn't responding. Seeing my mental state, Mario told Luigi to take me back, but I shook off the funk to shake my head in disagreement. "I'm fine, it's just mental fatigue."

Mario looks me in my eye for awhile, then nods. "Fine, but leave the next castle to us". I followed them to the next castle, lost in the memory of kissing Wendy. Why did I do that? What is wrong with me? And even worse, she called me weird! Shaking my head again, I looked around at my surroundings. Apparently, we were already in the next castle. Luigi is looking at me with concern, and Mario is looking at me with understanding. Mario spoke up "I know how you feel. I was the same way after my first real solo fight." Luigi nods in agreement. "Yeah, when Bro and I first started doing this, is was awful. It took awhile to find the right mentality."

I knew that they were mistaken as to why I was in a funk, but I let it slide. Now wasn't the time to tell them that I was fraternizing with the enemy.


	18. Drowning in thought

I was told to wait outside the doors as the Brothers took on whoever was in this castle. I sat and waited, a little worried. I know I shouldn't have been, but I couldn't help it. When about an hour had passed, I couldn't stand it anymore. As I was about to enter the doors, they opened. And there stood Mario and Luigi. They looked surprised to see me standing. "I thought you'd have taken this time to relax" said Luigi. Mario nodded his agreement. "Sorry, but you guys were in the for an hour. I started getting a little worried." Luigi smiles at the concern I was expressing, but Mario just raised his eyebrow. "Naw, we were fine. It was just a surprise tag team of Roy and Larry. Those two are almost never working together." As Luigi assuaged my concerns, Mario started walking. "Come on, you two. Last castle up ahead. Elden, you ok to fight now?" "Heck yeah, I am! I finally got over my funk. I'm ready to help you two save Peach!". Mario smiled at my exclamations and started walking with a purpose. Luigi, as usual, always had a grin for me. He clapped me on my shoulder and started followed Mario.

I slapped my cheeks and followed as well.


	19. Final Boss

We were approaching the last castle. I could see the airship with its massive anchor hanging above the castle. I started psyching myself up for the fight of my life.

We arrived at the castle now long after. Mario and Luigi kicked down the doors with their super jumps. This castle certainly was different. There were no corridors. Just a massive throne room. And there was Bowser, huge and intimidating. But Mario and Luigi stepped forward, side by side. And after a seconds hesitation, I stood right next to them. We all glared at Bowser, who laughed scornfully. "Took you two long enough. And you brought the cheap shotter!" Bowser laughed again.

"You never learn, Bowser. Now where is the princess!" Mario cried out.

Bowser stood up off his throne. And gestured toward his right. Peach was dangling from a huge chain, tied up and gagged. And then the fight began in earnest. Mario and Luigi split, going opposite directions from where they initially stood, and I ran out towards Peach. Luigi jumped at Bowser, but he ducked. But that was just a distraction. The real attack came from Mario, who leaped right after Bowser ducked. He landed right on Bowser's huge head, knocking him even lower. But that was all I saw, because I had my job getting Peach the hell out of here.

I jumped and grabbed the chain Peach was hanging from, hanging on with everything I had. Wrapping my legs around it, I turned myself upside down so I could get at the knot holding Peach in places. I scrambled for a few minutes, but I found success. Turns out untangling cords during my childhood weren't for nothing. Peach started falling, but I let go of the chain and landed before she was able to hit the floor. I caught her, and set her down gently before removing the gag.

"Thanks, Elden. Now lets get out of here before we get in the way." I shook my head, already caught up in the fight going on. Mario and Luigi were making quick, precise jump attacks at Bowser. But nothing seemed to phase him. I had an idea. I sneaked around behind Bowser, waiting for the perfect opportunity. There! I walked forward, and stomped on Bowser's toe. I put everything I had into that stomp, almost breaking my ankle.

It worked! Bowser cried out in absolute anguish, grabbing for his toes. Mario and Luigi used that opportunity to do a double stomp on either side of Bowser's head. He fell, out cold. Peach cheered in the background. Mario gave me a nod that said a lot, and Luigi grinned at me, talking a million miles a minute.

Peach walked over, smiling from ear to ear. "Well, then. Shall we head back?" she said. I grinned even further. I had a better idea...


	20. Totally not a thief

We stole their airship. Peach was wholly against the idea. Luigi looked uncertain. But Mario grinned like a mad man when I suggested it. We flew the ship back to the castle. We dropped Peach off at the castle, and went home. I parked the airship next to my home. Just like driving a flying car. I grinned to myself, ready to take a long break. With how hard I had stomped of Bowser's foot, I was pretty sure he'd need to rest a long time after that.

Months flew by, and I got to spend each day training with Mario and Luigi. I learned all of their tricks. I could move faster, jump higher, and kick butt. I even got to tinker with the airship. I changed it from a boat to something more.. Modern. I had Peach help me out with it. The local Toads helped out a lot, too. They even had a bus dismantled so that I could combine it with the air ship. The bottom changed to wheels. The cannons were dismantled and recycled. We had no use for such weapons of death. But in the end, I was able to land the airship on the ground. I dubbed it the air bus and that was that. I kept getting requests from the local kids for rides, but I always told them I needed to keep an eye out for bowser. They understood, but were disappointed. I promised rides later on, and they seemed to be appeased. Peach also okay-ed the pneumatic tubes I suggested. Lately, though, Peach was getting worried. There had been no sightings of Bowser anywhere, and that usually meant he was up to trouble again. So I was foregoing training to keep watch.


	21. Faster than last time

I sighted bowser approaching the castle again. I dropped the warning cannister into the pneumatic tube to Mario and Luigi's house, and climbed down from my roof. I left the building, and jumped in the air bus. I drove to the Mario brother's house and they climbed inside. We hauled tail up to the castle, but arrived too late. Bowser was already flying away. So I activated the flying function and we chased after him, keeping a discreet distance away. We were going to discover what castle he was in this time, without having to fight anyone else. Bowser's airship stopped after awhile. So we landed nearby and got out. Time to kick Bowser's butt!


	22. Surprising the Boss

Mario and Luigi kicked down the doors again, much to the surprise of Bowser. "What the~! How'd you get here so fast?!" I grinned at him, amused. But I wasn't about to let him know I stole his airship. Yet. So dodged the question "how's your foot?" Bowser glared at me. Mario spoke up at that moment "Where's the princess?" He jabbed his thumb behind him. And there sat the Princess inside a cage. Mario and Luigi, again, charged at Bowser, but he wasn't having a repeat of last time. He blew his fire at them, causing them to jump backwards. I was halfway to Peach at this point. He launched himself towards me. I dived away, rolling on the ground. He glared at me, death in his eyes. I stood up, and got ready to join the fight.


	23. Boss Taunts

Bowser was keeping me in his sight as he fought off Mario and Luigi. Dodging and blocking, I was unable to make my way towards Peach. So I started looking for opportunities to do some damage. Mario had decided to keep my newly aquired skills a secret from everyone, so I was the trump card. So I did the only thing I could do at this point. I started taunting Bowser, trying to throw him off his game.

"Hey, bow wow. You sure you're able to fight? Pretty sure I broke some of those toes last time. Maybe it's time for a repeat?"

Sure enough, my taunting was angering him. He started slipping up, getting caught by a super jump here, and a punch there. So I decided to launch one final taunt.

"I stole your airship." For Bowser, that was the last straw. He ignored the incoming Brothers and launched himself at me. Talons out, ready to kill me where I stood. But I just grinned at him. He had a second before his rage turned to confusion as he was hit by the same attack that knocked him out last time. Mario and Luigi hit him at the same time with a double super jump.


	24. Lectures and new danger

We got Peach out of the cage and untied her. She looked at me with worry, but I grinned at her. Thanking us all, we led her back out to the air bus and flew off back to the castle. Back in her tea room, she started to lecture me. "But Elden, I can't believe you talked like that to Bowser! What would you have done if Mario and Luigi hadn't gotten to Bowser in time!" "It would have been fine," I responded "They got there in time."

She stammed her hands down and stood. "But what if they hadn't?! What would you have done then! You are an important person to i/all/i of us! You shouldn't be so foolish!"

I sighed and looked at Mario. "Can I tell her?"

He nodded, giving his ok. "I would have been fine because Mario and Luigi have been training me since we got back last time. I was fine because if they hadn't gotten to him in time, I was going to super jump out of the way." Peach stood speachless. "I'm sorry for making you worry. But he wasn't letting me anywhere near you, and you looked like you were in pain."

Peach rubbed her wrists. "They were indeed tighter this time. My wrists still hurt..." She blushed as she realized I put myself in greater danger than before because I was worried about her. "Thank you, Elden. Mario, Luigi. But I fear that Bowser will be come back even worse than before. And next time, he might not just focus on me." I shrugged at the statement. "That's a bridge we will have to burn when we come to it."

Mario nodded his agreement. Luigi frowned. I knew it, too. Next time... He might be coming for me.


	25. Chapter 25

Now that Bowser was dealt with, and Peach was safe again, we headed home. Mario and Luigi waved me off at the turn to their house. I continued on for awhile, thinking about what the next day could bring. I arrived home just as the sun set. Usually I would have driven the air bus home, but at this point I needed a walk to clear my head. I'd go pick it up tomorrow.

I walked up to my door and noticed something off. The whole area is usually lit up at night. But tonight it was pitch dark. My head was still too full of things to think about. I opened my door and went inside. I realized at that time that I had been too foolish in my way of thinking. The unnatural dark around my home. The maintenance toads are way too thorough. I turned to run back out of my house, but I was too late. A bag was thrown over my head and I felt ropes being tightened around me. Unable to move now, I was picked up and carried out.


	26. Chapter 26

I don't really know how long it was before I was picked up again. But I was roughly thrown onto a hard surface and had the bag over my head removed.

"Yeesh! You know, that bag totally stinks. You should wash it".

I looked around at what I already knew to be another one of Bowser's castles. But it wasn't Bowser himself that I was looking up at. But Kamek the magikoopa. A little shocked that it was the Magikoopa I had saved from before. So I called out a polite greeting.

Hey, Kamek. To what do I owe the pleasure?"

"Lord Bowser is out for blood. Consider this repayment for saving me before. Now are you going to flee if I untie you?"

I shook my head in response. My mind was reeling from what I had just heard. Kamek went against Bowser? Kamek untied me while I just sat there, flabbergasted.

"Good. You are to stay here until I come back to tell you it's safe. With any luck, Bowser will think he killed you after destroying your house. After that, maybe I can calm him down enough to allow you to resume your life in the mushroom kingdom. Just stay here."

I nodded. "So how long do you think that'll take?"

Kamek looked like he was in deep thought. "6 months at minimum. And don't worry about anyone showing up. Only I will be coming here to check on you. As I am Bowser's personal attendant, I have to hurry back before I am missed. Stay safe, Elden. And remember that this is only thanks for saving me."


	27. Chapter 27

Now that I was here, there wasn't much I could do. First, I explored the castle. Seems there was a kitchen and fully stocked larder. So that was good. As for entertainment, there wasn't much of anything. So I decided training would be for the best. After all, if push came to shove I would duck out of here and take on Bowser for the sake of my friends. And just like that, a whole month passed. I felt myself getting stronger. Kamek came by every so often to check in on me, too. He told me that Peach had held a funeral for me, and was no longer being kidnapped by Bowser. Those cannons that were dismantled were put back together and attached to her castle. Every single resident of the mushroom kingdom cheered when she shot Bowser out of the sky. Seems my death had spurred her on to be ruthless where Bowser was concerned. Luigi had shut himself away for a week before emerging, looking drained. And Mario had vanished. According to Luigi, it was for the sake of training. He lamented my death and vowed to never let another person die on his watch. Wondering how Kamek learned all this, he told me it was through his spies in the Kingdom. While Bowser was furious that Peach armed herself, he was still celebrating my assumed demise. Not many of the Koopalings seemed to feel the same way.


	28. Chapter 28

Seems Kamek made a bit of a mistake. While heading this way, he was followed. Ludwig had been wondering where Kamek was going every so often. So now Ludwig was standing in front of me and Kamek. Wondering why I wasn't dead. Kamek made a lengthy explanation

Turns out Ludwig was actually glad to see me. He had quietly mourned my death so as not to alert bowser to his true feelings. And he wasn't the only one. Wendy, too, had seemed quite disturbed at the way Bowser had mercilessly blew my house up. Ludwig knew better than to question her about it, but he could tell she was upset. That cheered me up immensely, which didn't go unnoticed by Ludwig.. Though Kamek was none the wiser. "Now that someone besides me knows, I no longer have to keep checking on you. I can have Ludwig do it. Now I won't be away from Lord Bowser any longer."

So another month passed with Ludwig and I getting to know each other. We talked about everything. He found out that I was from a different world. He was actually quite shocked to hear it, too.

"So I actually had a question for you, Elden. Do you love my sister?"

I blinked a few times in response to his question. I rubbed the back of my head and bashfully replied; "Yeah. I actually do." Ludwig grinned and nodded at me. "Well Ok then. Mind if I bring her along next time?"


	29. Chapter 29

It was a couple of weeks after Ludwig has asked me a very loaded question. He left a few days after that, so I was training in the castle to try and take my mind off the upcoming reunion. I had just finished my eighth round around the castle when I arrived back at the kitchen to get something to drink. I had just started gulping water when a voice called out to me.

"So, you weren't dead after all. Guess I owe Ludwig five coins."

I spit out my water and whirled around. There she was. Wendy.

I quickly wiped spit and water off myself and starting cleaning up the mess I just made. I kept an eye on Wendy and saw her laughing at me. Which was fine, seeing as I had made an awful fool of myself. "So will you be paying immediately or giving him an IOU?" I asked her. She stopped laughing but didn't lose the teasing grin on her face. "I'll be paying him outright. I'd rather not have to owe anyone anything. And speaking of owing someone something, you owe me an explanation for the last time we saw each other."

"I do. Hold on, though. Let me finish this. If you don't clean up wet, mold sets in." I methodically finished wiping up the last remnants of my spit take. I finished and stood, ready to explain.


	30. Chapter 30

"Please, allow me to start at the beginning." Wendy rolled her eyes.

"When I was a child, I lived in a different world. I am not currently from this one. In fact, in the world I come from, all of this" and I gestured at nothing and everything, "is just a game we play. But that didn't change how I felt. How I still feel."

I walked toward Wendy and only stopped when I was mere inchest away from her. I look her in the eyes and spoke: "I'm in love with you, Wendy Koopa."

Her face goes through a multitude of emotions before settling on confusion and suspicion.

"You're... what?" She asked.

"I'm in love with you. Since before I came here."

"In love with me."

"Yes."

Wendy blushes. "How? You only just met me!" "Aha!" I replied, "I may have only just met you, but I have known about you for years and years. I have longed for you, and only you, for as long as I can remember. Usually to the detriment of all my other relationships. No one that I had met had ever held a candle to you." Wendy swooned, fainting. Seems that it was too much for her to handle all at once. Before she could hit the cold stone floor, I caught her. I wasn't about to let her get hurt. So I carried her to my room and laid her into my bed, covering her to keep her warm. I left her there. She'd be fine. Just needed some rest.


	31. Chapter 31

With Wendy safely tucked in, I went back to the kitchen to finish my drink. Since I was also hungry, I decided to cook something as well. All I really new how to cook was eggs, though. So I just did that. By the time I was washing up, I heard Wendy coming towards the kitchen. "What's burning?" "Oh, hey Wendy. Sorry, I'm not really great in the kitchen. Well enough for me, but probably not for anyone else. So how're you feeling?"

Wendy looks at me with another suspicious expression. "I'm fine... How'd I even get to that bed in the first place?"

Oh, you fain... Passed out. So I carried you there." I had caught the angry look in her eye when I started to say fainted. Glad I changed that. "I had just finished training when you surprised me. I had gotten hungry so I left you to recover in my bed while I got something to eat."

She moved closer to me. "Did you really mean all of that from before? With all the... Love, and stuff?"

I nodded. "Sure did. And still do. Nothing has changed in the last 16 years. I don't expect it to do so now."

Wendy blinks at that information.. And blushes again. I start drying off my hands and walk toward her. I throw the towel over one shoulder and ask her "So? What do you think?"

"Think? About what?"

"About seeing what I'm like. I know I've always loved you, but you've only just met me. I already knew long ago that my love may be unrequited."

"Sure.. I guess. At least talking to you won't hurt. So? How come you're here?"

So I sat down at the table and started telling her everything about myself. I left a few things out, of course, but she seems almost enraptured by the stories I told of her of my old world. And she started to open up to me. She told me all sorts of things that I had no idea about. And it turns out she was tired of Bowser and all of his plans. She just wanted to live her life and pursue her hobbies.


	32. Chapter 32

|||Hi there, first time talking to you readers. I hope you're enjoying this! The reason for the multiple chapter 32 posts is minor typos and getting rid of my italic notes. I have always said that if you can't find something that speaks to you in a book, write it yourself. And after reading many different stories, I decided to try my hand at this. I'm just starting out, so please bear with me as I get my bearings. Oh, and I only write when the mood hits, so please don't expect any sort of consistent basis for these.

Wendy herself admitted she enjoyed cooking. She made a fantastic meal for us and we continued talking. It was well into the night when we stopped. I stood up and stretched. "Well, that was a lovely time. No one in the mushroom kingdom talked to me for this long. You go ahead and take my bed for the night. I'll find somewhere else to sleep."

Wendy looked at me, blushing. "You could always just sleep in the same bed as me..."

I blinked a few times, and could feel myself blushing as well. "Yeah, I'd like that."

We climbed into bed and lay there staring at each other. "So," I said "does this mean you're willing to return my feelings?"

She smiled at me. And it was a beautiful smile. "I guess it means I'm willing to try."

And so we spent the next few months like that. Living day in and day out like a couple. I never stopped training, and Wendy was always there with water and breakfast. Ludwig even stopped by and told me he had never seen Wendy happier. But all good things eventually had to come to an end. And it was announced on the day of the 8th month I had been living at the castle. Kamek had shown up at the door to announce that I was free to go. And that Bowser had forgotten all about me.

With that news, I turned to Wendy. She looked horribly sad at the news. "You know, we don't exactly have to split apart. You could come with me.."

A hopeful light lit up in Wendy's eyes. But Kamek interjected. "Certainly not! She is a princess of the Koopa Kingdom! Lady Wendy isn't able to just vanish like that!"

"Yeah, she's a princess. But she's _my_ princess. And I am more than strong enough to keep her safe should she so choose to come with me. But I will abide with what she decides. Because she is her own person, after all."

"Her own Koopa. And I've decided to come with you. I'm tired of all the crap Bowser has us do. F _orces_ us to do. So I'm with Elden. At least he treats me with respect."

"Well, there you have it. Now, let's go. We have people to inform that my death was wildly exaggerated."


	33. Chapter 33

It took another month to make it back to the Mushroom Kingdom. We were so far out that Bowser never even used these castles anymore. But spending another month with the beautiful Wendy was pure bliss. We had donned hooded cloaks so we could travel incognito. The first thing we did when we got back was go to where my house used to be. Peach had turned it into a park with a statue dedicated to me in the middle of it. Honestly, it was pretty embarrassing. Though the plaque was touching.

'This memorial is dedicated to Elden, who enriched our lives and taught us the value of doing the right thing.'

Wendy snickered at the plaque "It seems the princess actually cared about you."

"Yeah, she does. Even though I just appeared out of nowhere, she really made me feel welcome." Wendy frowned at that, but said nothing.

We finished walking through the park. Not a single trace of the house I once lived in had survived. Oh well, I could just settle down in a new one.

Cloaked as we were, we didn't draw any attention to ourselves. Which was a little disturbing, but with Peach and her cannons it was probably fine. Probably.

We headed toward Luigi's house and knocked on the door. But no one was home. Odd, Luigi was usually always home. So we decided to head to the castle to see Peach and let her know I was still alive. Everything looked fine. We walked up to the main doors and pushed them open to go inside. "Hey, Peach! You here?!" I called out to the castle. I heard footsteps come running as soon I called out. Peach showed up at the top of her stairs just as I was pulling off my hood. "Elden?! You're alive!" She came sprinting down the stairs two at a time in a very un-princess like manner. She leaped at me and wrapped me in a great big hug, to which Wendy tsked off to the side. Tears streaming down her face, she started crying out. "I thought you were dead! Where have you been?! It was so sad without you! Luigi cried for a week straight! Mario disappeared to find some way of bringing you back! Oh, thank goodness you're alive!" I patted Peach on her back and set her down gently. "It's alright, I was saved by Kamek. He hid me away until Bowser's blood lust calmed down. But yeah, I'm back." Peach wiped the tears from her eyes. "Welcome back!"

I sighed and pulled Wendy's still cloaked figure toward me. "Actually, I have a bit of a story to tell. Would you mind if we sat in the usual place?"

Peach eyed the figure next to me warily. Great, that means she was still practicing what I told her a year ago. She nodded and led us to the tea room. Upon entering the Tea room, we all sat down. "So, the thing is..." I reached over and placed my hand on Wendy's shoulder. She nodded, lowering her hood. Peach gasped and stood, backing away. "No, no! Peach, it's fine! She's not with Bowser anymore. She's with me." I intertwined my hand with Wendy's. "You see, the thing is..." I trailed off, suddenly unsure on how to proceed. Wendy spoke up. "He has loved me since before coming to this world. And I have come to love him." Peach regained her composure at that, and sat back down. "I see. Well that would certainly explain why she is here with you." Wendy bristled "Do you doubt that I love him?!" She near shouted at Peach. But Peach shook her head. "I fully believe what you say. It's written all over your face, in fact. You really do care and love our Elden." Wendy was too shocked to continue her tirade against Peach. So I gently placed my hand on her arm and brought her back to her senses. She sat back down.

"So?" I asked. "Where's Luigi?"

"Luigi is gone. He left a week ago to look for Mario. Ah, but he is still keeping in touch! He reworked your pneumatic tubes to work in tandem with small personal warp pipes." I heard a hiss and a thoomp sound. "That would be him just now." Peach walked over to the tube and opened the pod. She spent a minute reading the letter before silently handing it to me. I took the note and read.

Princess.

Mario in danger.

Send help to Mystic Valley by way of hidden pipe.

I looked up at her, determined to help. She sighed, and nodded. "Follow me."


	34. Chapter 34

Wendy and I followed her to a back area of the castle. She led us through several heavily locked doors. "This is the warp room. It is a secret that is told to only those who have our absolute trust.." I nodded, and turned to Wendy. She shook off her dumb founded expression at being tursted with such a great secret. "I'm going after them. But I need you to stay here, Wendy. I know you can take care of yourself... But I'd rather not have you wrecklessly throw yourself into danger."

She smiled and hugged me. "You mean exactly like you're about to do?" I nodded. "It's fine, just make sure you come back quickly." I grinned at her and Peach led me to the right pipe. I climbed in and was heading to aid Luigi.


	35. Chapter 35

Warp pipes are amazing. It was like riding a water slide made of wind and magic, fast and thrilling but over all too soon. Reaching my destination, I poked my head out of the pipe only to be greeted by Luigi's face 3 inches from mine. He placed one finger next to his mouth to signify that I should be silent and turned away, only to quickly look back in a double take and stare at me once more. "EL~!" I clamped one hand over his mouth, stifling his shout before he could announce our presence.

"Later! I'm here to help." I whispered furiously. I cautiously pulled my hand away from his mouth and he nodded at me, tears streaming from his eyes. "Oh, I am so happy you're alive... But we have trouble. Mario has been captured by a tribe of feral Shy-Guys. Right now they're debating on whether or not to eat him, so we don't have long." "Then lets go save him! What's the plan?" I replied.


	36. Chapter 36

Luigi's plan was thus: He would gain their attention by yelling his head off and running away. Meanwhile, I would sneak in and grab the unconscious Mario. I would then drag him back to the pipe and take him back to the castle. Luigi would join us after losing his pursuers. It put him in the most danger, but he was quick and nimble on his feet. I would have gone in his stead, but I was out of actual combat practice. And up against an unknown enemy, I didn't want to get too overconfident again. Last time it lead to me having to fake my death, after all. I got into position and waited for the signal.

I didn't have to wait long. I heard Luigi yelling "Come and get me, you Goomba knockoffs! You couldn't catch a Koopa Troopa with a stubbed toe!"

I counted to 100 and rushed out of hiding. Mario was there, with only two guards. I sprinted toward them and super jumped on one, knocking it unconscious. The other one stepped back, startled, brandishing its spear at me. I dodged the first strike, catching the spear by the shaft. I pulled it toward me while throwing a punch at its owner, hitting the second Shy-Guy guard in the mask, cracking it. With the last guard dealt with, I grabbed Mario and threw him over one shoulder. Time to get out of here. I practically flew through the area, heading towards the warp pipe. I jumped in and without a sound, I was rushing back to the castle.


	37. Chapter 37

I felt again the rush of warping. I really must try this again when the situation wasn't so dire. I popped out of the warp pipe and looked around, catching sight of Peach and Wendy chatting in front of the doors. "Hey! I've got Mario here, I think he needs a mushroom!" Peach hurried over and took him from me. "I'm going back to wait for Luigi." And with that, I jumped back into the pipe and was again off. I think I was starting to love this rush of excitement whenever I used one of these. I jumped out of the pipe and landed on the ground in a crouch. I couldn't hear anything at all, so I decided to wait. I sat with my back against the pipe and closed my eyes. What seemed like a half an hour passed by before Luigi showed up, panting into the silence. "Oh, hey Elden. Mario ok?" "Yeah, he is. I left him with Peach. Ready to go back?" Luigi nodded at me and we went back through the pipe. What greeted me was a still wounded Mario hiding Peach behind his back, staring Wendy down like she was a ravenous wolf. Wendy was just standing quite a bit away from Mario, looking a little fearful. Luigi gasped and ran to Mario's side to back him up.

I ran over to Wendy's side and hid her behind me. "Whoa, Mario. Luigi. It's ok. She's not a threat to any of you. Mario looked at me with pure shock. "Elden? You're... Alive?" But before I could get any response out, he had passed out. Seems he had reached his limit.


	38. Chapter 38

Luigi carried Mario to a bedchamber in the castle. He still kept a wary eye on Wendy, but seemed to feel relieved that I was here. We followed a bit away from him. Peach looked exasperated, but a great deal calmer than she had since our reunion. As Luigi laid Mario down into the bed, he took out a red and green mushroom. First he fed the green mushroom to Mario, and then the red. The effect was immediate and Mario opened his eyes. "Bro..." Luigi quietly said. Mario took in the scene around him. First Peach, then Luigi. And finally me and Wendy. His glare had an effect on Wendy, because she ducked behind me to hide from his sight.

"What in the name of all that is good do you think you're doing with her?" His glare was trained on me. I returned his glare with one of my own.

"Long story. But the short version is that Kamek saved my life by hiding me away from Bowser until his blood lust cooled off. She and Ludwig both knew about me, and kept my secret. But as for what she's doing here... I love her. Always have. And she left Bowser to be with me." Wendy took a deep breath and stepped to my side, taking my hand. "And I love him. I was already fed up with Father's schemes. A lot of us are. Ludwig, Iggy and Lemmy, too. We just want to live our lives. And my life is with Elden." Peach started clapping. But a look from Mario and her hands faltered mid-clap. He looked me right in my eyes for a good five minutes. I stood fearlessly in front of him, chin raised. I had nothing to be ashamed of. Wendy was shaking a little, but never faltered under his angry glare. Finally, he sighed and closed his eyes. "Do what you like" he said. I smiled victoriously, and Wendy hugged me tight, a grin on her face as well. Luigi looked happy, and Peach was delighted. She strode toward us and gently laid a hand on Wendy's arm. "Come, Wendy. I'm sure they have a lot to talk about. How about you and I go get something to drink." Wendy nodded and followed Peach out, closing the door behind them.

Silence bore down on the room. Mario was had refocused his gaze back on me, and I on him. Luigi kept glancing between us, fearful of the sudden overbearing silence.

Mario got up from his bed, and faced me. I planted my feet. With a super jump that was nothing like I had ever seen before, Mario leaped at me and raised his fist. And I just allowed it to happen. Mario punched me in the face with everything he had. I crashed backward through the door, breaking it and shocking Wendy and Peach who were still in the hallway. Wendy started to rush toward me, but I held up one hand, telling her to stay back. I got up from the ground, splinters and destroyed door all around me. And I jumped at Mario myself. I socked him in the jaw, and sent him flying backward into the bed. It collapsed under the speed at which Mario hit it, sinking to the floor. Luigi groaned and covered his eyes with one hand. I waited for Mario to get up and come at me again, but Mario was grinning from ear to ear as he rose. I started laughing, despite the predicament we both had. Mario started joining in and soon we were laughing and pounding each other on the back. We had communicated with our fists. Luigi was still covering his eyes with his hand in the corner of the room, shaking his head but laughing as well. Wendy and Peach looked in through the door, exasperation written all over their faces. It was great to be home.


End file.
